http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/uribe/ en-us Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:37:29 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093961/posts For those with questions about Gov. Sarah Palin's competence in the area of foreign policy, consider this: She has already demonstrated more leadership on foreign policy know-how and savvy than the entire Democratic party leadership put together. If this was a sports event in the contest of Gov. Palin versus the Democratic party leadership, it was a blowout with an easy win for Gov. Palin with a score of about 100-0. The incident I'm about to relate demonstrates Gov. Palin's competence, but it more dramatically demonstrates the incompetence of the Democratic party's foreign policy leadership, including the total incompetence of... The Bulletin http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093961/posts#comment Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:37:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089800/posts Election '08: The press spent so much time sniping at Sarah Palin for her visits with global leaders that in the end it babbled about itself. What it missed was news on John McCain's foreign policy. Who are the real rubes?Palin's meetings with foreign heads of state in New York this week sent a stark message to the world's tyrants: If she and John McCain are elected to the highest office in the land, America will stand by the embattled nations it calls friends. Not those nations with the most money, prestige or radical think tanks lobbying Congress on their... IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089800/posts#comment Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:51:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089014/posts This morning President Bush addressed the United Nations general assembly for the last time. Transcript After the address he and the first Lady met with some political dissident at Governors Island in New York City Transcript Vice President Cheney attended a weekly House Republican conferencemeeting on Capitol Hill Secretary of Defense Robert Gates testified today on Capitol Hill before the Armed Forces Committee on Afghanistan and Iraq Vice Presidential candidate, Governor Sarah Palin met this morning in New York City with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. She also met with Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger... White House and other sources http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089014/posts#comment Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:21:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088130/posts Leadership: If anything shows how Democrats are beneath their office, it's how they snubbed the visiting leader of Colombia on his current trip. Sarah Palin, by contrast, shows respect.Based on their treatment of President Alvaro Uribe, who is here to plead for a free trade pact, it's almost as if Democrats don't want the U.S. to have allies. Uribe made a rare visit to Washington, and shamefully few Democrats agreed to meet him. Uribe didn't come asking for much — only that Congress keep its word on an agreement that will drop tariffs on American goods sold in Colombia and... IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088130/posts#comment Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:56:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086810/posts President Bush on Saturday used the visit of Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe to urge Congress to pass a free trade agreement with the South American country. In remarks to reporters alongside Uribe at the White House Rose Garden, Bush said it is vital that Congress considers the trade pact before adjourning. “It is a statement of friendship, it's a statement of common values. And if this agreement were not to pass it would embolden the voices of populism in the neighborhood, to the detriment of a government which has been very strong in dealing with human rights and human dignity... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086810/posts#comment Sun, 21 Sep 2008 00:37:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086701/posts The President delivered his Weekly Radio Address from the White House. The subject was the economy. President Bush welcomed President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia to the White House on September 20, 2008. Colombia is a strategic ally of the United States, and this visit underscores the deep friendship and extensive cooperation between the United States and Colombia. The two leaders discussed a range of issues, including their shared commitment to the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, continuing to reduce violence and increase peace and security in Colombia, and strengthening democracy throughout the region. The President is hosting a White House... yahoo news; whitehouse.gov;various http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086701/posts#comment Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:36:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2056668/posts The Colombian TV released footage taken by the army during the rescue operation of July 2, 2008 where several hostages were freed, including presidential hopeful Ingrid Betancourt and 3 American citizens. American CIA and Israeli Mossad were involved in this operation. VIDEOS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2056668/posts#comment Tue, 5 Aug 2008 08:29:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046458/posts BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- Colombian President Alvaro Uribe says one Red Cross symbol was used in a daring and successful hostage rescue mission that took place two weeks ago. What seems to be part of a red cross is seen on a bib worn by a man involved in the rescue in this official image. One of the rescuers was wearing the symbol on a bib, Uribe said Wednesday in a nationally televised announcement that was also carried on radio. He described the wearing of the symbol as a slip-up. Such a use of the Red Cross emblem could constitute... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046458/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:42:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046442/posts BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia misused the symbol of the Red Cross in this month's military rescue of politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other guerrilla-held hostages, the government said on Wednesday, admitting a possible violation of the rules of war. "We regret that this occurred," President Alvaro Uribe said in a speech following reports that the Red Cross emblem was displayed on a vest or T-shirt worn by a Colombian intelligence officer who took part in the rescue mission. Falsely portraying military personnel as Red Cross members is against the Geneva Conventions as it could put humanitarian workers at risk when... yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046442/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:13:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043828/posts On the day the Colombian military freed Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other long-held hostages, the Italian Parliament passed yet another resolution demanding her release. Europe had long ago adopted this French-Colombian politician as a cause celebre. France had made her an honorary citizen of Paris, passed numerous resolutions and held many vigils... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043828/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:39:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041992/posts Uribe should soften his tone with FARC: Betancourt Mon Jul 7, 2008 2:58pm EDT PARIS (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe should soften his tone when dealing with the Marxist FARC guerrillas, freed hostage Ingrid Betancourt said on Monday, urging him to break with the language of "hatred". Betancourt was rescued last week after more than six years in the jungle as a captive of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in an operation that was widely seen as a vindication of Uribe's hardline stance against the guerrillas. The FARC is still holding hundreds of captives and Betancourt, who... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041992/posts#comment Mon, 7 Jul 2008 19:22:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041373/posts Undercover Officers Got Acting Lessons; 'Crocodile Dundee' BOGOTÁ, Colombia -- New details have emerged about an important supporting role for the U.S. in Colombia's daring rescue of 15 hostages held by the country's Marxist guerrillas. One area where the Americans were directly involved: Giving Hollywood-style acting classes to the Colombian undercover military officers who duped the guerrillas into handing over the hostages. Preparation for the rescue mission, which freed three Americans and former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, involved mounting a makeshift studio on an army base and drilling the undercover military officers in their acting roles, according to senior... Wall Street Journal (no subscription) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041373/posts#comment Sun, 6 Jul 2008 09:45:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040539/posts War On Terror: A foreign country puts its men on the line to rescue American hostages and pulls off one of the greatest rescues in history. Might a little gratitude from Congress be in order?Not since the 1976 Israeli raid on Entebbe has a rescue of hostages held by terrorists ended so spectacularly. Wednesday's liberation by the Colombian army of three Northrop contractors and 12 others will go down as one of history's great strikes against terror. In the wake of the rescue, Democrats' caricature of Colombia as a night-haunted right-wing dictatorship, a la 1976 Guatemala, looks increasingly hollow. The... IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040539/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jul 2008 01:15:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040202/posts You will REALLY enjoy this 2-minute clip. Great little short mini-documentary showing the release yesterday of the Colombian and American hostages who had been kidnapped years ago by pro-Communist, pro-Che Guevara FARC guerillas.The former Presidential Candidate, (female), lead hostage and one of the main speakers on the airport tarmac, profusely thanks the pro-US President Uribe, and then, rolling her eyes still in disbelief, says she was "amazed by the BRILLIANCE of the Army of Colombia" in their plan to seize the hostages, faking as if they were leftists rebels themselves.Another of the liberated, a man, shouts, LONG LIVE LIBERTY! and... El Tiempo, Bogota, Colombia http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040202/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jul 2008 13:04:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040134/posts MEXICO CITY—Senator John McCain congratulated President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia on Wednesday for the Colombian government’s rescue of 15 hostages, including three Americans, held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a Marxist-inspired insurgency that Mr. McCain repeatedly criticized this week during a trip to Latin America. “This is great news,” Mr. McCain told reporters on his campaign plane enroute to Mexico City from Cartagena, Colombia, after Mr. Uribe called Mr. McCain in the air to inform him of the success of the operation. “Thank God they are released.” The timing of the rescue, which occurred while Mr.... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040134/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jul 2008 08:47:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040130/posts Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and top military officials addressed the country late Wednesday to explain the daring rescue operation to freed former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages held by leftist rebels... Monsters & Critics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040130/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jul 2008 07:54:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039869/posts <p>BOGOTA (Reuters) - French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, three Americans and 11 other hostages were rescued from leftist guerrillas by Colombian troops on Wednesday after years in captivity, the government said.</p> breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039869/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jul 2008 19:34:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2021343/posts Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is expressing his condolences over the death of the leader of Colombia's largest rebel group, calling him "our brother" in the fight against social injustice. Ortega spoke Sunday in Uruguay at a gathering of leftist parties and organizations in Latin America. He praised rebel commander Manuel Marulanda, who the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia confirmed died in March of a heart attack. Ortega called Marulanda an "extraordinary fighter" who struggled for decades to reverse "profound inequalities." The Nicaraguan president urged attendees at the Sao Paulo Forum to topple "the tyranny of global capitalism," and accused Washington... International Herald Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2021343/posts#comment Mon, 26 May 2008 08:14:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2020946/posts President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela has been caught. Despite his protestations of innocence, Interpol has corroborated the authenticity of thousands of computer files captured during a Colombian Army raid on a FARC rebel camp in Venezuela. Only a small share of this trove has been released, but it leaves little doubt that Venezuela has been aiding the guerrillas’ effort to overthrow Colombia’s democratically elected government. The Colombian government released documents from the computers that suggest Venezuelan intelligence officials tried to secure weapons for the FARC and that Mr. Chávez’s government offered the rebels oil and a $250 million loan. Information... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2020946/posts#comment Sun, 25 May 2008 05:14:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996111/posts Lenin once diagnosed his opponents as suffering from an infantile disorder. Who could blame President Uribe of Colombia if he came to the same conclusion about the other presidents of the South American republics? The disorder is characterized by revolutionary romanticism, the view that anyone who takes up arms against an established government in the name of social justice must be motivated by a deep love of humanity. To believe this, it is necessary to understand neither history nor human nature. To pretend to believe it requires considerable cynicism and moral turpitude. National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996111/posts#comment Thu, 3 Apr 2008 15:41:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992965/posts Excerpt - BOGOTA, March 28 (Reuters) - Colombia will free hundreds of guerrilla fighters if rebel leaders release politician Ingrid Betancourt, who is in ill health after being held hostage for years in secret jungle camps, the government said. President Alvaro Uribe signed a decree late on Thursday allowing the massive release of guerrillas from jail if French-Colombian Betancourt, kidnapped during her 2002 presidential campaign and ailing from hepatitis B, is set free, Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo told reporters. The decree was a bid to speed up efforts at swapping rebel-held politicians, police and soldiers for jailed guerrillas after... Reuters (excerpt) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992965/posts#comment Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:32:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1983238/posts But in their totality, the hundreds of pages of documents so far made public by Colombia paint an even more chilling picture. The raid appears to have preempted a breathtakingly ambitious "strategic plan" agreed on by Chávez and the FARC with the initial goal of gaining international recognition for a movement designated a terrorist organization by both the United States and Europe. Chávez then intended to force Colombian President Álvaro Uribe to negotiate a political settlement with the FARC, and to promote a candidate allied with Chávez and the FARC to take power from Uribe. All this is laid out... wash post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1983238/posts#comment Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:40:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1983192/posts What is it about Democrats and Hugo Chávez? Even as the Venezuelan strongman was threatening war last week against Colombia, Congress was threatening to hand him a huge strategic victory by spurning Colombia's free trade overtures to the U.S. This isn't the first time Democrats have come to Mr. Chávez's aid, but it would be the most destructive. The Venezuelan is engaged in a high-stakes competition over the political and economic direction of Latin America. He wants the region to follow his path of ever greater state control of the economy, while assisting U.S. enemies wherever he can. He's already... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1983192/posts#comment Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:43:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982993/posts Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reached for what he considered the ultimate insult when he called Colombia "the new Israel." If by that he means a country better governed than its immediate neighbors, that dares to protect itself against terrorists across its border despite getting bludgeoned for it by the international left -- he had a point. Colombia killed Raul Reyes, the second in command of the narco-terrorist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in a raid about two miles inside Ecuador. Usually when a terrorist leader dies, it's cause for celebration. But Ecuador broke off diplomatic relations, and Chavez mobilized... townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982993/posts#comment Sun, 9 Mar 2008 21:00:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980596/posts BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A single laptop can reveal much, and so it is with the digital treasure chest that Colombian commandos found in the jungle quarters of slain rebel leader Raul Reyes. Files in the computer seized in Saturday's raid into Ecuador that claimed the lives of Reyes and 23 of his comrades offer an intimate portrait of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's desire to undermine Colombia's U.S.-allied government. If authentic, the documents show that sympathies Chavez first aired publicly in January grew out of a relationship that dates back more than a decade. But Chavez is not one of... AP via brietbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980596/posts#comment Wed, 5 Mar 2008 09:24:41 GMT